Stockholm, March 16, 2015
Strong growth and improved profitability
characterized 2014 for Scandic Hotels
– strengthening its position as the leading Nordic hotel operator
2014 was characterized by strong growth in revenue mainly as a result of the acquisition of the
Nordic hotel chain, Rica Hotels, which added 10,600 hotel rooms and 71 hotels. At the same time,
the good organic growth of 10.0% in the hotel portfolio confirms that the Group’s investments in
its portfolio and customer offering yielded the desired results. During the year, the Group gained
market share in all of the Nordic countries. This strong growth occurred at the same time as the
Group’s adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 9.4%.
January – December 2014 in summary
Net sales increased by 37.4% to 10,825.9 MSEK (7,881.9).
Organic growth, i.e. excluding acquisitions, totaled 10.0%.
Net sales LFL1.) rose 4.7%.
RevPAR went up by 7.4% (3.1% LFL), driven mainly by higher occupancy.
Adjusted EBITDA amounted to 1,019.3 MSEK (693.0), which corresponds to a margin of 9.4%.
226 (152) hotels with 41,913 (29,704) hotel rooms were in operation at the end of the year.
Group key ratios
MSEK
Net sales
Net sales growth, %
Net sales growth LFL, %
Adjusted EBITDAR
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA margin, %
RevPAR (Average Revenue Per Available Room), SEK
ARR (Average Room Rate), SEK
OCC (Occupancy), %
2014
10,825.9
37.4
4.7
3,826.1
1,019.3
9.4
573.5
927.4
61.8
2013
7,881.9
-1.9
-3.5
2,734.0
693.0
8.8
534.1
903.3
59.1
1.) Like-for-like (LFL) refers to the hotels that were in operation during the entire period in question as well as during the
corresponding period of the previous year (no new or exit hotels are included for the year) at unchanged exchange rates.
2.) Adjusted EBITDA refers to adjusted earnings before pre-opening costs, non-recurring items, interest, taxes, depreciation
and amortization.
CEO’s comments on the financial statements for 2014:
“I am happy to say that our commercial strategies and measures yielded results during the year.
We have taken market share in all of the Nordic countries at the same time as we have improved
profitability.
In addition to the fact that we are clearly now the largest and leading hotel operator in the Nordic
countries with a unbeatable geographic network, the acquisition of Rica Hotels has also given us
significant potential to benefit from sales and cost synergies going forward. Results from the last
quarter of the year, however, were impacted negatively by reduced levels of activity in the oil and
gas sector in Norway. We are following the unstable economic situation there closely, but we believe
that Norway – in the long term – will be a stable and strong hotel market.
We ended 2014 with good momentum in the company both in terms of revenues and expenses.
All in all, along with the investments that we made during the year in both our hotel portfolio and our
customer offering, we are well equipped for continued long-term growth with good profitability.”
Frank Fiskers,
President & CEO
About Scandic Hotels
Scandic is the market leader in Nordic hospitality with an unbeatable network of almost 230 hotels with 42,000 hotel rooms and run by 14,000
committed team members. Scandic Friends is the biggest loyalty program in the Nordic hotel industry with 1.4 million members. Scandic is the
‘best hotel brand’ in the Nordics (BDRC 2014). Responsibility is a part of Scandic’s DNA and for the fourth year running, Scandic has been
designated the most sustainable hotel operator according to a Sustainable Brands survey. www.scandichotels.com
Development of the Group during 2014
Sales
Growth continued to be driven largely by corporate customers. The number of contracted corporate
customers and sources of recurring revenue increased from a positive level and during the year, a
number of strategic agreements were renewed or signed. Scandic is attracting an increasingly higher
share of domestic and international leisure travelers, which has a positive effect on occupancy during
weekends and holidays. Loyal customers’ share of room revenues is continuing to maintain a high and
stable level.
At the end of 2013, a number of new and renegotiated distribution agreements were signed, which
impacted sales positively during the year, especially related to international leisure travel. Sales through
Scandic’s own channels continue to be high and during the year, the company made significant
investments to ensure that its digital services and customer experience will continue to lead the market
going forward.
Hotel portfolio
The market for hotel properties remains attractive and Scandic is continuing to maintain a dialog with
property owners regarding projects for new hotels as well as takeovers of existing hotels. At the end of
the period, Scandic had a hotel capacity of 41,913 hotel rooms at 226 hotels. The renovation program
that started in 2012 together with the property company Pandox, which involves upgrading some 40
hotels in Sweden, Norway and Finland to a high, uniform and cost-efficient standard, was 95% complete
at the end of the year. The hotels where renovations were completed during the year were received very
positively by guests and contributed to a steady increase in Scandic’s guest satisfaction index.
Sustainability
Scandic’s systematic work to reduce the environmental impact of its operations, primarily within energy
and water use and waste management, continues to show good results. The year’s positive
environmental results are mainly due to the fact that Scandic’s hotel portfolio includes an increasing
number of new or renovated hotels. During the year, the company began work to certify all hotels under
the Nordic Ecolabel’s new stricter requirements. In addition to the fact that Scandic has the first EUcertified hotels in Poland, Scandic’s sustainability work continues to attract attention and receive
nominations for sustainability prizes. During the year and for the fourth year running, Scandic in Sweden
was voted as the most sustainable hotel chain in Sustainable Brands’ annual consumer survey.
Development of the Nordic hotel market during the year
Demand for hotel nights grew in all of the Nordic countries. Increased hotel capacity, however, had a
dampening effect on both average room rates and occupancy in the Swedish and Norwegian hotel
markets. In Sweden, RevPAR (revenue per available room) went up by 1.2% while RevPAR in Norway
decreased by 0.5% as a result of weak development in the oil and gas sector towards the end of the
year. RevPAR increased by 3.3% in the Danish market and 2.1% in the Finnish market despite the
country’s macroeconomic challenges. (Source: Benchmarking Alliance and STR Global)
For more information, please contact:
Gunilla Rudebjer, CFO, Scandic Hotels, +46 8 517 351 64, [email protected]
Ann-Charlotte Johansson, VP Group Communications and IR, Scandic Hotels, +46 721 802 244,
[email protected]
About Scandic Hotels
Scandic is the market leader in Nordic hospitality with an unbeatable network of almost 230 hotels with 42,000 hotel rooms and run by 14,000
committed team members. Scandic Friends is the biggest loyalty program in the Nordic hotel industry with 1.4 million members. Scandic is the
‘best hotel brand’ in the Nordics (BDRC 2014). Responsibility is a part of Scandic’s DNA and for the fourth year running, Scandic has been
designated the most sustainable hotel operator according to a Sustainable Brands survey. www.scandichotels.com